Category: Human Survival

It’s a beautiful day today. And I am lucky enough to be able to sit in my house and listen to planes and helicopters flying and enjoying the spring weather.

Although most people would think of hearing aircraft as mere noise, the sounds remind me of how connected we are now as a people. And how good it is to be able to have that contact which is a lot closer timewise than it was even 75 or 100 years ago.

It used to be that we would get a fragment of a news report. Because of vast distances and slow communication, we would not be able to fully confirm nor deny the story. And, because of that vacuum in information, we would do what humans do best. We would think the worse until proven mistaken.

I’m not here to pick on us. Yet, think of how many times in our lives and how many times in history are dander is raised, and ire rule the day until more information is received. Is this unneeded concern a bad thing? Although usually not needed, I believe it is a primitive defense mechanism. If you don’t know what’s going on sometimes, the safest thing is to assume it’s not going to be good. We can always backpedal later.

Today we are lucky enough that we have excellent communication, good databases and easy ways to find the correct facts. I am not recommending that we should paint everything is rosy until proven otherwise. I’m just suggesting, a broad middle-of-the-road stance until we know for sure, is always a good policy. It is definitely better than shooting first and asking questions later.

Being knowledgeable, understandable, and a proper stance are things we should strive to accomplish. It makes a difference now as we live in our world and try to bring our global village together. It will mean more and be needed even more as we discover new things including new sentient species.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope you are with us again tomorrow.

Yesterday we saw a wonderful demonstration of what this country was designed to do and does best.

Yesterday we saw citizens of our country who have been neglected and denied their civil rights, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, stand up and peacefully march on their legislatures and the presidency to demand freedom from the fear of death.

These citizens showed the rest of us the way. Those who could no longer be present had their concerns voiced by parents and loved ones. Their message was clear. Stop allowing people the means to come into our schools and kill us. They meant it.

Unlike past incidents where speeches were made and vague promises uttered, these citizens spoke clearly, had true empathy, and expect results. And yes, legislatures and the government will have to fix the problem.

These citizens are tired of the talk, tired of their numbers being shot at, and young, most in their teens. They are however receiving an education into our government, our democracy, our way of life. These young citizens have awakened early. They are smart. They have the energy. And they have what it will take to see their demands happen.

We need to pay very close attention. For these are the citizens that will guide us into the future defending those in danger and without a voice, and even defend and protect us as we grow old.

Sometimes when we live with jewels all of our life, we forget what is really precious. We sometimes take for granted the things that work so well. And, tend to ignore those people that are always there.

When we make a change, the ripples of the change affect everything and everyone around us. The larger the change, the stronger the ripples around us are; and the more those who are near to us are affected. It is important that we are cognizant of, and pay attention, to those concerns.

Have you ever been in an earthquake? Having lived around the world, I have been in several earthquakes. Some that were over as soon as they started, and some that seemed to go on forever. The truth is, the time of earthquakes is usually shorter than you think. The reason it feels longer is that you don’t know when it’s going to stop. Just like the earthquake, ripples that are caused by the change of one person affect others more deeply when they do not know what is going on or where the changes are headed.

There is a really neat way to help dampen the ripples of change for both you and those around you. The nice thing is it doesn’t cost anything, it takes very little time, it provides everybody involved some great support. Just sit down with those concerned and talk to them about what is going on.

It’s amazing that when people know, they can work as a team and together they can do all sorts of wonderful things to meet challenges. To grow, to move in directions, and to set the basis to ultimately succeed, no matter what the odds are. Whether you are moving to a new city, changing jobs, planning a retirement, or any number of other things, sit down with those around you and whatever you do you discuss it and do it together.

That is one mean old master sergeant’s thought for the day. Try talking to those around you, especially the ones you care about, and you’ll be surprised how much support and teamwork you actually will gain.

Tomorrow is a new dawn. The start of a new day and the possibilities that day brings for all the great things in life. Just imagine what tomorrow might bring.

We get so used to the idea of the new Dawn because during our lives we have seen it happen so often. We get accustomed to the fact that there will be a new day in the morning. The new chance for a beautiful sunrise, dew on the grass, and beauty all around us in the air and on the ground.

Sometimes we just cannot see the beauty and wonder of it all, because we get a little jaded by its regularity. Yet it’s the most wonderful thing you can think of. Whoever put this whole plan into motion took great care. The cycles work well sunrise and sunsets, seasons and years.

In our day to day hustle of work, kids to school, bills to pay, and important things to do, we sometimes forget to stop and look. If you have the sun rising and purple on the mountain and crops in the fields, forests before you and the beauty of the shoreline again with its ebb and flow of the tides with the crashing of the waves to the shore, it is something to behold.

In the neatest thing, we each see something a little bit different within the new morning. It is as though each morning was crafted especially for each and every one of us.

Interesting things are coming up in the next week, and I will be very excited to tell you about it on Monday. Please remember without change, better things never happen.

Last week we covered habits and systems. If you have the right systems inform the right habits to use them life gets a little easier. Without the right systems and the right habits, life gets tougher.

To understand what we need to do and why we must take a step higher, and look around. To help you with this, you need to get your notebook or writing pad, and you need to break down what is most important to you. This list is very important to you. You are making this list to better understand where your work is.

As you start to make your list, I’m learning to ask a few questions just to help you get started and to help you think a little bit about what is most important to you.

Which is most important:

Does family come before or after employment?

Which comes first, kids or friends?

Do you take care of yourself or others first?

Is your car a showpiece, or something to get you from point A to point B?

Are you happy with the way your house or apartment looks? If not, what steps do you take to change the appearance?

Do you ever not go to the doctor because of work needs?

How many nights a week do you not get enough sleep? Why?

The next question tells you where you want to end up.

If at the end of your life, your friends and family and former coworkers throw you a Three speeches are made about three significant things in your life. What do you want the three items to be? And what would you like the speakers to say?

When you get through thinking about this and writing everything down, a couple of questions are still left:

If you make no changes, will the speeches say what you wanted to hear?

If not, what would you change so the speeches could be given in a way you would like to hear them?

What do you think it would take to make the speeches reality?

Are you willing to put in the effort?

These are the questions for you to ponder. Making notes and writing things down is quite often less confusing and ensures that you will probably not forget the subtle things that you should remember along the way.

The more I work in my chosen field of my business, the more I know that I need good systems. I also know that if I don’t have the habit to use the systems, they will fall by the wayside. That does neither my consumers nor me any good.

I was born into a military family. Dad was a staff Sgt. the Army and just as everything was shipshape at work, so would things be ship shape at home. I still remember having to answer the phone with my expected saying,” Balof quarters, Mike speaking.” After a while, as I grew, I stepped away from all the rigmarole. I believed in spontaneity, and I had a belief that everything would be done in time, just that maybe the time wasn’t now.

When I went into the Air Force, everything came back. I was used to the various systems of doing things and the habits that were trying to be instilled. And I understood them in a new light. When I had my kids, I remembered what I went through with my dad, and did not want to inflict that upon them. Try as I might a little always seeps through. Yet, I did my best to instill in them their free agency.

After being out of the service for over 20 years, I have decided to go into my own business. I write these blogs that you get to read for free, and I love to make them. I write books which are a lot of fun. And I’m still developing courses as I have done for the last 15 years. Only this time, I am making the majority rather than the minority of them for online presentation. And the one thing I know for sure, for everyone who uses my offerings, I need to have good systems in place, and good habits to serve you better.

With your permission, this week I am going to spend our five days together looking into habits and systems and similar items we can all use to be better at what we do.

If you would like to share, please add to the comments below and let us know about your favorite habits and the type of systems you use to stay on track. When we learn from each other, we learn great things, and everyone does better because of new knowledge.

We look forward to being with you again tomorrow. In the meantime, have a great day.